Jean
Marc Afessi Mbafor
-President
of the National Youth Council
 |
| Jean Marc Afessi Mbafor |
Jean Marc Afessi Mbafor, President of the
National Youth Council has cautioned youths to channel
their energy and efforts in the right direction. According to him, for the last
ten months youth especially those from the North West and South West Regions
have done a lot to express their discontent but their energies and efforts have
not been channeled in the right direction. Youths he said look for information
from the wrong source and end up missing out on benefits that otherwise should
have been theirs. He begins by stating that youths have been at the center of the
crises rocking the country and that they have paid the greatest toll through
sacrifices made.
“What has been going
on in the North West and South West Regions is very preoccupying and the youths
are at the center of it all. They are the ones paying the highest toll by not
going to school and not following up their businesses. The message I and the
elites of the Region have is that of peace and of renewed hope. It’s time for
everyone to calm down, take stock of the situation and pave the way forward. We
have said all we can say and we have beaten the drums and now it’s the time to
pick up the pieces and move forward.”
There
is the general impression that youths do not take part in decisions affecting their
lives.
That has been a
legitimate request not just for Anglophone kids but a request that cuts across
the board. Youth have not been completely satisfied with the response but I
think the government has been doing something towards attending to the problems
of youths in the country. The National Youth Council is semi autonomous and
elects its leaders. The leader who happens to be me sits on behalf of the
youths in important decision making meetings. This is the first time I am being
called in by the Prime Minister for this kind of meeting. The government is
certainly becoming more aware of the fact that the participation of youths is
important in decision making. I am the youngest one to have been appointed in
the Musonge Commission. We have seen the Director General of Taxation who was
appointed I think at the age of 37. These are signs that make me to be hopeful
as a youth. Definitely I continue to write, I continue to lobby and I take what
is given to us as a sign of better things to come and I think we just need some
patience. It is time for youth to be taken as real partners.
What
has concretely been done by the Head of State the better the situation of
youth?
During our golden
jubilee celebrations of the youths in 2016, the President gave 1.2 Billion FCFA
as a special fund to youths. Projects have already been funded though it has
been slow but it is going towards somewhere. A number of projects have been
funded in Agriculture. A lot of projects for the funding of youth projects are
available. I remember once the Minister of Agriculture called me and asked a
question that embarrassed me. He questioned why the youths weren’t coming for
the money that had been kept for their projects.
Isn’t
it a case of blockage in information flow?
I realised our youth were not informed. We the
youth have failed sometimes because we don’t seek for information from the
right source. We should change the manner in which we get ourselves informed.
There is also a lot the Government has to do to adapt its communication system.
For example, we need a greater presence of the Government on Social Media to
appeal to the youth. The Government cannot answer all our needs in one day and
we should also learn to put to maximum use facilities at our disposal. For the
past ten months many youths have channeled their efforts and energy in the
wrong direction. It is time for their energy to be channeled in the right
direction.
Interviewed By Francis Ekongang Nzante Lenjo
EDEV Web News: Email: edevnewspaper@gmail.com/francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel:+237678401408/ +237696896001
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